


Cracking The Mirror

by Uwansumadamboi



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Anonymous Sex, Anxiety, Beauty and the Beast Elements, Courtship, Dream Sex, Fairy Tale Curses, Historical Fantasy, Horror Elements, Implied/Referenced Abortion, M/M, Period Typical Attitudes, Porn With Plot, Power Imbalance, Tropes, Unplanned Pregnancy, Were-Creatures
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-15
Updated: 2018-03-18
Packaged: 2019-03-19 03:46:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13696215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Uwansumadamboi/pseuds/Uwansumadamboi
Summary: Due to a series of bad decisions, Rhys (The omega son of a wealthy merchant, set to be married to a wealthy lord so that his family could buy their way into the aristocracy) ends up pregnant by a man that he never even learned the name of and engaged to a man that he barely even liked as a person. Feeling trapped and desperate as well as fearful for the life of his bastard child, he runs away to the neighboring nation of Hyperion.But hunger and fatigue catch up with him as he accidentally trespasses upon the home of Jack Lawrence; a wealthy aging widower, that every person in the town of Helios has some sort of idea or rumor about him, whether good or bad or downright strange. Those rumors just become even more contrived and weird when news travels about his courtship to the omega he employed. Despite how much he likes the alpha, how happy he is for the attention and how good it feels not to have to worry about the fate of his child, he can't help but notice cracks in the mirror of Jacks' personality.Like, for instance, the horrific noises coming from the west wing and vividly real dreams of a man that isn't quite human visiting him in the night.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> i have so many plans for this.

All his life, Rhys had never quite been a good and proper omega. Not like he was supposed to be, at least. He never understood the etiquette or the long, drawn out courtship between an alpha and an omega. But most of all, he never understood the lack of agency that he was allotted simply for the way that he was born. He hadn’t chosen to be an omega, but he had to face the consequences for it nonetheless.

And damn if it wasn’t a stifling existence – there were too many rules to adhere to, too many ideations of propriety that he had to uphold.

Good Omegas’ don’t slouch or cough. Good Omegas don’t use inappropriate language. Good Omegas don’t drink or smoke. Good Omegas wait until they marry for sex or even romantic affection. In short, Good Omegas don’t have _fun_.

It’s a wonder that he didn’t start rebelling earlier than he did and with more extremity to it than what he had chosen to do – not to say that what he did wouldn’t have him drawn and quartered if anyone found out. Because they would, he would be reviled if anyone ever knew that Rhys Edenshire had been knocked up by some spiky haired bartender with metal in his face, his entire family would be run out of town.

The truth of the matter, when it came down to it was that Rhys had been stupid, he had ran off in the middle of the night and came to some seedy tavern in the middle of nowhere and tried to pass himself off like a beta. He couldn’t pretend to be an alpha, he was too slender and even if he wore the clothes of an alpha and smothered himself in them his scent was still too delicate to pass.

Nobody had believed him and he was sure to be turned away. It was just his luck that the bartender had taken pity on him – had taken so much pity on him that he ended the night spread out underneath the man with cheap sheets chafing his stomach as the alpha fucked him over and over and over again. It felt so wrong and dirty but Rhys found himself becoming enamored with the idea of the man all the same. He came back home the very next morning, regrettably without even learning the name of the alpha and without getting the chance to grow more attached to him.

No one had questioned about his whereabouts – they were too busy prepping him for the arrival of a wealthy lord that had shown interest in marrying him. Everything was banking on Rhys being suitable enough and his father couldn’t stress it enough that Rhys not mess this up for them. So he tried to be the ideal omega, even though he didn’t feel ideal anymore and he couldn’t help but worry that they would find him out.

True to form, Lord Vasquez had been exactly what Rhys had expected of an alpha of his standing; gregarious and gentlemanly… if a little pompous about the way he spoke. The two of them had a quick courtship and Hugo proposed to him a month and a half later and Rhys forced a smile as he said ‘yes’ because he hadn’t gone through his heat yet and that could only mean one thing.

The worst thing about it was that Rhys couldn’t bring himself to regret it or even feel any sort of anger towards the alpha – it wasn’t really the mans’ fault and omegas weren’t meant to conceive outside of a heat, it wasn’t meant to happen but it only made sense with Rhys’ constant stream of bad luck that he would be one of the rare omegas that was fertile enough to do so.

Rhys had no idea what he should do – even what he could do – about all of this.

He was pregnant with the child of a man that he barely even knew and although his betrothed wasn’t the most intelligent man that he had met he doubted that he would believe that the child could ever be his own – nothing about it could make sense, the timing made no sense and if he stayed there was a chance he would have the child before he even walked down the aisle and even if it didn’t he doubted that it would look very much like Vasquez.

The whole thing was awful and unfortunate – he was being trapped into a box that seemed to be getting smaller and smaller in each and every moment and it felt like to him that he was suffocating on lack of choice.

The way he saw it he had two options; Option A would be to go to one of the “Special Doctors” on the outskirts of Fyrestone and… take care of it. Looking down at his stomach, which had already started to slightly swell with child, he knew that he couldn’t do that. He was too sentimental and emotional, so much so that he had already found himself attached to it.

Option B would be to lie about it, lie through his teeth about it until he could convince his alpha – to – be that it was his and that Rhys was just so fertile that he had become pregnant on their wedding night. He couldn’t do that either, he was a little too far along and he was just a terrible liar to top it off. He couldn’t even bluff when he played cards and he very well couldn’t lie about something for the rest of his life – he doubted he would make it even a week before he cracked and confessed. That wouldn’t end well, that would end with… bloodshed and a long stay in the sanitarium until he learned his proper place in the world.

All that left was Option C and Option C was… to run. To pick up and leave before his and Hugos’ wedding night. To leave no trace of his existence or where he ran off to and give no chance for his family to find him ever again. With a miserable sort of sigh, Rhys began to pack a minuscule bag of things that he could sell for a carriage that could take him… somewhere, maybe to Hyperion. It was a bit more metropolitan there, maybe he wouldn’t have to live his life in fear of oppression there.

He didn’t know, really. All he knew was that he needed to get out of Atlas quicker than Lord Vasquez would discover that his bride ran away.

* * *

  
After what was probably the most disgusting carriage ride that Rhys had ever paid for, being given god awful directions to a town that he had come to find to find out didn’t even exist anymore and running his shoes down so badly that he ended up just taking them off and going barefoot, Rhys could say without a shadow of a doubt that he was lost.

As he wandered through the forest that he had somehow gotten himself lost in, circling what he was pretty sure was the same tree over and over again, he found himself becoming incrementally more miserable as the moments passed by. He had to keep pressing on – he had to keep going, otherwise this whole thing might end up worse than it already was and he couldn’t have that.

He jumped as he heard a voice, “What are you doing on my land?” The voice was clear cut and crisp, not to mention angry sounding. Rhys turned himself around in a circle, trying to figure out where the voice came from.

“Oh my god!” Rhys shouted as he crashed into the dirt below him. He let out a choked sob and a whine as he took in the scent of an unknown alpha that was close. It was too close for comfort and all he could think as he kneel on the cold dirt with blood trailing down his legs was that he was going to die along with the baby that he had tried so hard to save. That it was all for nothing and he was going to die for absolutely no reason.

“What. Are. You. Doing. On. My. Land.” The alpha that he smelled repeated and in his fright, Rhys threw his arm over his head to block out any incoming attack from the unknown entity that stood proud in front of him. Rhys’ passive submission only seemed to infuriate the alpha even more. “No, you look at me and tell me what the hell you think you’re doing on my land.” The alpha moved down to his level and grabbed Rhys’ chin and forced his face towards him, “Answer me, pumpkin.”

Rhys looked up at the alpha with a downright terrified look in his eyes; the man was tall and broad and older than the omega himself but definitely handsome in his own right with a strong jaw, bronzed skin and mismatched eyes. He flushed and tried to open his mouth to say something, anything really, but all that came out of his mouth was an embarrassing shriek. He should not have felt this horrified but everything else in his world had gone to hell, it would only be fitting that he would end up on the property of a man that looked like he might kill you as well as smile at you.

The alpha looked at him in a way that made Rhys feel like he was naked and the omega found his vision getting darker and darker. The last thing he saw before his entire world went completely black was the man reaching towards him, ready to scoop him away and Rhys was helpless to do anything other than fall limp in the unknown alphas’ embrace.

* * *

  
Rhys awoke not in a pile of dirt or a prison cell, but a soft bed in the center of a room lit only by a dimly lit lantern. He sat up and brought his knees to his chest, gently rubbing the bare skin of his thighs together and became immediately shocked as he noticed his state of undress. He blushed all the way down to his chest as he realized that someone – hopefully not the alpha he had run into – had stripped him and redressed him in a soft, sheer night gown.

The omega frowned and crawled off of the bed, moving forward on shaky legs out the door of the room. He hoped to find the alpha and give him a piece of his mind – or at the very least, he hoped to get his clothes back and be on his way.

He wandered around the surprisingly expansive manor for some time until he managed to find the room where the alpha sat, looking almost expectant when he noticed Rhys’ presence. The alpha grinned at him and ushered him over, “There ya are, thought you might of croaked back there.” he said, much to Rhys’ own confusion. “Come here, you must be hungry or something.”

Any normal person with common sense would probably not bring themselves closer to someone that they had barely known – someone that had probably seen him naked, but he wasn’t going to think about that… nope, that did not happen – but normal people weren’t blessed with Rhys’ track record of impulsive decisions. Also… he was hungry and he felt hungrier than he had ever been in his life and his desperation and fatigue overpowered what little sense he did have in his head.

He walked forward and sat himself down on the edge of an expensive (more than he could ever afford to replace) looking chaise lounge, he perched himself precariously enough that if he needed to he would be able to run off in barely an instant if things started to get scary or dangerous with this unknown man. “...Hello,” He said feeling stupidly regretful of every single decision that he had made over the past six months. The omega felt like he had vertigo or like his brain was spinning and bouncing around his head while he sat stone still.

“I’m Jack, Jack Lawrence.”The alpha greeted in a jovial manner, extending his own hand out in a friendly manner. Rhys took the alphas’ hand warily and shook it politely. This was definitely different than the angry alpha that he had seen before he fell unconscious. “You got a name, darling?”

Jack Lawrence was an incredibly handsome man, Rhys noticed, he had interesting yet symmetrical features and perfectly coiffed hair that had just began to gray from age. His eyes were gorgeous too and he felt that he couldn’t look at them for too long otherwise he would get lost in them. The only physical flaw that the omega could see about him was a long faded scar that resembled an upside down ‘V’ that met its point on the bridge of his nose and spread down the sides of his jaw.

Rhys hesitated for a few moments, feeling frightened and worried and shell shocked all at the same time. “I-it’s Rhys. E-edenshire… Rhys Edenshire.” he placed his fingers nervously over his stump as he spoke, a subconscious habit that he had developed over the years of having it pointed out to him. He allowed his fingers to nervously tap against his shoulder blade as he waited for the older man to speak to him and let him know his fate. “Are you going to have me arrested?” he blurted out, “I, I didn’t mean to trespass! It was an accident-”

“Slow down a minute, Rhysie.” The alpha told him, grinning at the blush that the omega responded with. “No, I’m not having you arrested.” He said, pressing his hand flat against his own chest as he assured the omega. “I’m not a _complete_ monster who would throw a pregnant omega in jail. You don’t need to worry about that, pumpkin. I do have something of a proposition for you, though.”

That only raised more questions in the omega and he fidgeted with his fingers over his stump even more because of his worry, “You can tell? I don’t think I’m far along enough for that-” He narrowed his eyes with offense, interrupting one thought and letting another take over, “and what kind of proposition, I know this does not look… favorable for me but I am not some kind of _harlot_.”

In that moment, Rhys remembered his state of undress and squeaked in mortification, “Are _you_ the one who undressed me?”

“Well, yeah.”

The omega pulled a face of scandal and horror, “I can’t believe that you would… why would you do something like that?” his brain filled with all sorts of perverted ideas about what might have happened while he was asleep.

“You were sick.” The alpha spoke, shutting down Rhys’ worries instantaneously, “Those clothes that you were wearing were dirty and caked with blood, you might have gotten sicker if I didn’t undress you. Don’t worry, I’m not some kind of pervert if you were worried about me taking advantage.”

Rhys pouted and refused to say anything else on the matter, giving Jack ample opportunity to continue on with his diatribe. “Besides what I’m asking for… it’s not that kind of proposition.” Jack replied, laughing with a bit of amusement at the omegas expense. “Though I wouldn’t be opposed, if you were offering.” he added in a tone that was both mocking and flirtatious both at the same time.

“Then what do you want from me?!” he shrieked, anger overcoming his anxiety and frustration, he didn't know whether he wanted to cry or become violent and take a swing at the alpha.

Jack frowned at Rhys’ sudden switch in behavior, but said nothing about it. Instead of commenting on it or answering to his questions, he pushed a silver platter of food towards where the omega nervously sat, shifting his hips from side to side in anticipation of either punishment or exile. “You’ve been asleep for a few days.” he told Rhys, sounding almost disappointed in him, “You need to eat. We can talk after I’m sure you’re not going to keel over.”

Although he knew that there was a large chance that the alpha could have poisoned or drugged the food, he was too hungry to really care – in fact, he was downright ravenous. Rhys was sure that if his mother saw the undignified way that he ate, barely taking the moment to even chew his food, she would have fainted from shock but not before spending an hour telling him how much he disappointed her all in the course of one single breath.

Jack seemed more amused by Rhys’ lack of etiquette than anything else and he chuckled with good humor at the display. The omega blushed as he finished eating, finally remembering himself and his own manners, “I, I am so sorry…” he apologized weakly, “I am usually more… well, I’m sorry.” he added with a small, barely even noticeable shrug, “Thank you.” he said in an even smaller voice.

The alpha hummed noncommittally, entirely disinterested with polite conversation at its whole as he was, at Rhys’ forced sense of puritanical politeness and leaned forward with interest in how Rhys ended up wandering through his estate. It was painfully obvious that he couldn’t outright ask him about though and his curiosity was reason enough to keep the omega around for a while.

“Look,” Jack said, leaning forward slightly as he spoke to the omega. “It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that you’re in trouble,” Rhys made a soft noise as Jack gently pried his hand off of his shoulder and took it in his own.

The omega was momentarily shocked by the touch and he jolted with surprise as Jack caged Rhys’ hand with his own larger one.“Aaaaaand I think that you’re pretty damn interesting, I gotta say I’m intrigued. So, I’ve got an offer for you. The idiots in this town are freaking insufferable and I need someone to run errands for me,” he explained in an easy tone, “You’ll get room and board and I’ll pay you once a week.”

Rhys was a bit too shocked to speak, so much so that the only word that he could get out was a soft and incredibly hesitant “I…” his shyness only became even worse because of the fact that the alpha was still holding his hand. He cocked his head to the side, “But why?” he asked, curiosity and frustration with himself overcoming his anxiety and his own inherit shyness. “You don’t know me and I could be considered criminal for more than one mistake that I’ve made. Why would you care to help someone like me?”

Jack didn’t seem angry or annoyed by Rhys’ standoffish behavior, instead he looked impressed with the omegas’ boldness. “That is exactly why I want to help you out, Rhysie.” he hummed, his tone seeming almost flirtatious to the omega. “Because you are interesting, head to toe, I find you absolutely fascinating.” he purred, “And I’d love to get to know you a little better, pumpkin, or a lot better. I want to know you as much as you’d allow.”

The omega faltered as he realized what Jack was saying to him and it was surprising enough to him that he pulled his hand back from the alphas’ grip and held it close to his chest like it was dear to him. “I’m sorry, I must be mistaken…” he commented quietly, before continuing on with incredulity heavy in his tone. “A-are you saying that you w-want to court me?” he asked for good measure.

He was incredulous for good reason – he had no prospects, not even his virginity, he was destitute and to top it all off he was pregnant. It was insane to him that anyone would be interested in him now, Jack would have to be insane to want him like he was.

“Courtship?” Jack parroted Rhys’ turn of phrase, like he forgot the meaning of the word for the moment before he nodded in agreement, “Yes, something like that. I want to court you, Rhys.” he agreed with a strange sort of eagerness in his voice. “If you’d let me, that is.”

“Why would you want to do something like that?!” he asked, so abrasive that he managed to shock his own senses. “I’m not…” he hesitated, trying to rephrase the words that he wanted to say in a way that didn’t sound like complete self-loathing mixed in with self-pity. “I don’t think that I’m exactly ideal for courtship. I don’t have anything that I can offer you… besides embarrassment.”

“Is that what you _really_ think?” Jack asked, “What, you’re all washed up now because you got yourself knocked up. That's stupid.”

“Of course. That’s what I’ve always been told.” Rhys replied, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. He wondered for a moment if Hyperion was just so different from Atlas that none of Rhys’ worries made any sense in their culture.

“That’s stupid.” The alpha repeated, almost like he was mocking every person who held up these ideals. "It's not like any of that actually matters."

“Well, it’s just how things are.” Rhys protested, annoyed with the alphas’ perceived ignorance on the matter.

“Well, I don’t give a damn about any of that,” Jack replied, sounding almost affronted by the idea that he would, “Because, honestly? I’m too old to care about petty crap like that and it’s a waste of my time anyways. Yours too, by the way. It’s just a freaking waste of time in general.” he said, “Let me make this clear for you, sugar, I am definitely interested in you and being pregnant doesn’t deter me, not even a little bit.” he explained, taking Rhys’ hand once more, “Now, let me try this again; will you let me court you, Rhysie?”

Rhys found himself enamored with that kind of idea, with Jacks’ lack of care for what most people would vehemently adhere to. It was the driving force behind the quiet, “Yes, I… I think that I’d like that.” that he spoke out to the older man. “I’d like that very much.”


	2. One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhys meets a few friends and starts to wonder about the goings on around Helios.

Jacks’ eyes lit up excitedly, like he was hopeful and had gotten all of his wishes achieved, before he spoke again, “BLAKE!” He called in a loud and impatient cadence. A man practically ran down the hall until he had caught himself up to where Jack and Rhys were sitting. “Finally, you’re here.” he said it in a way that made it seem as though the man hadn’t approached them almost instantaneously.

The man looked at Rhys icily, before he addressed Jack. “What do you need, sir?” he asked Jack, voice full of pomposity in a way that made the omega recoil with many unpleasant memories brewing up in the back of his brain. Jack sneered in annoyance, ready to reel into his servant for whatever reasons.

The way he spoke to Blake was a far cry from the good humored way that he had spoken to Rhys just moments before and it reminded him clearly of the alpha that had scared him so much. He pointed towards the omega, “This is Rhys, he’s gonna be staying here from now on.” he explained in a short tone, “So I’m gonna need you to find him some clothes to wear, nice ones. I’m sure we have something stashed away that he can fit into. Just put them in his room whenever you find them.”

Rhys noticed that he didn’t say ‘working here’ instead of what he had said, the omega found that to be sort of curious but he didn’t really comment on it because it didn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things. He sat stock still, biting his lip nervously as he tried to think about everything that had happened to him – all by accident he had managed to find himself… safe, if a little wary of the alpha that was so interested in having him.

“Er, right away.” Blake said, doing a three quarter turn before he remembered to ask, “which room is he going to be staying in?”

“The blue one upstairs,” Jack explained, his tone making it obvious that he was already disinterested in the man in general.“The one that’s down the hall from my room, get him something appropriate by tonight.” he said as he waved the man off lazily. After he was sure that Blake was off on his way, he turned back towards Rhys. “Do you want a tour of the place?” he asked as he stood up, offering his hand to the omega. “It’s a pretty damn big estate and I don’t want you getting yourself lost.”

Rhys blushed and took the alphas’ hand, “Um, sure that sounds nice.” he said, “Is it really all that expansive?” he asked as he took to looking curiously around the room. The alpha laughed and pulled Rhys a little closer, slinging an arm around his slender waist.

Truthfully, Rhys was definitely not used to this kind of physical contact – he had never been touched much growing up – but he felt as though he was going to become accustomed to it quickly with the way that Jack liked to get his hands on the omega in some way or another. The touch was strangely comforting and it felt really nice to be given affection or attention like that, especially after everything that had happened over the past weeks.

“Technically the whole town is my backyard.” Jack told the omega in reply, “But, you know, I let them hang around so long as they pay me.” he explained, self-congratulatory as any man who owned as much as Jack did might be, “But my house itself? I got at least a few acres to myself.”

“Oh?” Rhys exclaimed, feeling a little surprised by that. “You own the town?” he asked rhetorically, decidedly punctuating it with a chirped out ‘huh’. The omega found it incredibly ironic and he couldn’t help but think that his parents would have been so proud – and horrified by what a whore that their son had turned out to be, they would probably shriek first – that he had mistakenly ended up in the arms of someone even wealthier than Lord Vasquez with his chateau overlooking the hills and his glued on hair pieces. That is, if you believed what the servants whispered about while they didn’t notice Rhys hanging around them. People rarely noticed him.

“Of course,” The alpha replied, sounding almost put off by the idea that Rhys wouldn’t just expect that the entire town was of his own making and his own possession – even though it was despite the fact that the omega didn’t know Hyperion culture and knew Jack even less.

The omega scoffed, as quietly as he could but still loud enough for Jack to hear him loud and clear, and it directed the alphas’ attention. “What?” He remarked towards the slender omega with more than a small amount of amusement. “Something funny about that, princess?”

“W-well, it’s just sort of ironic.” Rhys explained, “You see, I was to be married to a lord before I…” he giggled nervously and fidgeted with the sheer and light yet very prettily placed lace of the sleeve on his nightgown, “Ran away and ended up here.”

“You were betrothed?” Jack asked, more curious than anything else. Rhys faltered a bit and waited for some kind of impending explosion, for the alpha to be disgusted with him or to throw him out in a fit of betrayal and rage.

“Y-yes.” The omega squeaked back in reply, his voice becoming tiny and frightened with worry of impending doom for his near future. A part of him, a treacherous and uselessly fearful part that didn’t think in terms of realities, wondered if Jack would have him shipped back to Lord Hugo Vasquez so that the alpha could do whatever he willed with Rhys. It was a frightening thing that broke through all of his fears and created a monstrous – if completely unrealistic – idea of what might happen if he was.

“So I’m guessing that your pup isn’t his?” Jack questioned in an amused tone of voice. He looked down at the slight distend of the omegas’ stomach, plump and perfect as it was already, given that he really wasn’t all that far along. Rhys gave him a guilty look and cringed a bit, worried that Jack might just throw him out in offense at his very being. There was a cautious silence between them for a few moments before Rhys even thought to say a word in reply.

“Yes…” Rhys replied in agreement, slouching down and squaring out his shoulders in shame. “I, I made a mistake. I… don’t even know the mans’ name.” he added quietly and the alpha tutted at him and Rhys mistook his derision for disappointment, “And it only happened once but I, well you can very well see what happened because of my… foolishness.” he pursed his lips and cut himself off, feeling as though he was just making things worse the more he tried to explain himself. “God, I’m so stupid.” he muttered to himself, looking anywhere but at the alpha.

Jack was, if anything, confused by the way that Rhys believed his life to be over. He didn’t understand the way that the omega tied his self-worth to one singular mistake and he doubted that he could ever be able to understand that sort of thought process. “You’re bold, Rhysie.” Jack told the omega, reveling in the way that he lit up at the simple bits of praise. “I respect what you did for your pup, it’s damn heroic and that’s putting it lightly.”

“Oh,” Rhys exclaimed, taken aback and caught with surprise by Jacks’ difference in ideals once again. He would probably continue to be surprised by Jack for the foreseeable future, “You do?” he asked softly and with a strange sort of reverence for the alpha. He could see himself really falling in love with the way that the alpha was.

Jack grinned over at Rhys with pride and adoration, “Of course I do.” he agreed, “Now, come on, let me show you around the rest of the place.” he added, pulling Rhys in closer once more and the omega blushed and basked in the warmth that Jack so naturally radiated.

The two of them walked around the surprisingly lavish state for a while – Jack showed him the parlor, the kitchen, the dining hall and about fifty other rooms. As they were about to walk out, so that Jack could show Rhys his gardens and maybe even let him see the most gorgeous horse – and the only horse that he had – in his stable, the omega stood still and stared as if hypnotized by the sight of something so horrifying and grim looking that he couldn’t help but be drawn in by its very being.

Jack noticed immediately what Rhys was looking at – the door to the west wing, the only part of the entire estate that no one was able to enter. The door was large, ornate with chains wrapped around it to keep what the omega had to think was to keep not only him, but everyone out.

It looked to Rhys like a big, ugly foreboding sign that said ‘keep the hell out’ which only made the omega all the more curious about it. The omega was torn between his own natural sense of curiosity and his sense of self-preservation as he looked at it. Everything else about the manor as Jack had shown it to him seemed to differ in every single way.

“What’s in there?” Rhys asked, looking towards the locked door with rampant curiosity. Jack hesitated to answer for barely a moment and Rhys took that as the opportunity to say more, “It looks… I don’t know, out of place?” he added with a shrug.

“That’s, uh, that’s the west wing,” Jack explained, tone short and almost annoyed as he spoke. “Don’t go in there.” Rhys gave him a curious look, like he was about to ask ‘why’ before Jack continued on with his explanations. “It’s old and dilapidated… it’s pretty dangerous so no one goes in there, not even me and if you did then you might get lost or hurt yourself.” he gently redirected Rhys away from the door, “and that wouldn’t be good for any of us, least of all you.” he said with a finality that managed to convince the omega, at least for the moment.

Rhys turned away but he swore that he heard ghostly voices calling out to him and crunching sounds of bones and glass on stone. The implications of what he thought that he heard were… it was even more frightening than he would be able to voice, even just in his own head.

Horrified by where his mind was taking him, he shrunk close into the alphas’ side and clung tight to him as Jack ushered the omega back around to show him all of the brighter and prettier things about Helios.

Once Rhys had been redressed in something a little more appropriate, courtesy of the alphas’ death-like stewards’ expertise, Jack had decided to show the omega around the village surrounding his new home.

He soon found that Helios was even prettier than he had imagined, the estate was vast and the village was bright and idyllic, though he noticed that the villagers continued to eye him curiously and whisper among themselves. Rhys chocked it up to idle gossip and maybe even a bit of jealous annoyance. He wasn’t sure, all he knew for sure was that he was very lucky to be where he was.

“How are you liking the place, Rhysie?” Jack asked, looking over at the omega fondly as Rhys pressed ever closer to him. “I hope it’s up to your standards,” he joked, as an afterthought.

“It’s just… well, it’s just lovely.” The omega confessed sincerely, “I don’t even know how to describe it properly, it’s just… I don’t know, this place is so pretty and there’s so many people here!” he smiled with good nature at the alpha, “I’d love to meet some of them… later that is.” he looked down, realizing that he was rambling on in his anxiety. “S-speaking of… what kind of work would you have me do for you?”

The alpha looked over at him, grinning a bit before he lowered his voice, “I’ve already told you that I don’t like coming down to the village down here.” he reiterated, “They stare and whisper, it’s uncomfortable.” he added with a laugh, “but I need things down here and I don’t have a messenger. I need one of those. Desperately.”

“Oh,” The omega exclaimed, “That sounds pretty manageable. You shouldn’t need to do those sort of menial tasks yourself…” he agreed, “I mean, anything else that you want me to do for you… well, I can cook or clean if need be. I’m so grateful and I wouldn’t want to be a burden on you in any way so-”

“You don’t need to ramble, kitten.” Jack assured, “You’re too damn pretty to ever be a burden on anyone and I’m too damn rich to care about it either way.” he laughed, “I mean, have you seen this place? I’m pretty freaking rich.” he gently cupped the side of Rhys’ face. “You don’t need to worry so much.”

The omega snorted at that in derision, “I’ll put forth an effort.” he promised in an almost audacious tone, “But, uh…” he giggled nervously, fussing absentmindedly with the soft lacy trim of the velvety short cloak clasped around his slight frame. “Although… I don’t think I can make any promises to that end.” he quipped softly, giving the alpha a small and secret smile as he spoke back. “So don’t get your hopes up.”

Jack grinned again as he moved close enough to sling and arm around the omegas’ shoulder, touching him protectively yet gingerly. “I’ll keep that in mind, sugar.” he promised.

* * *

  
Everything had happened so fast – with Jack, with this place, with having a job and some personal responsibilities, with being pregnant and with it all happening suddenly at the same time – that by the time that Rhys lay himself down to sleep, that the omegas’ heart hammered in his chest so fast that he almost thought it would break out of his chest cavity and zip around the room.

He felt something akin to a toxic mixture of anxiety and exhilaration, his body refused to keep still for more than a moment and his brain went a mile a minute with thoughts and scenarios, wondering and worrying over what might happen in the event of… well anything really. His brain went to the craziest places, seemingly hell bent on making him feel awful about himself and every decision that he had ever made in his life. Whether they were good or bad, it didn’t really matter to his overworking brain.

After a while, he became sick of dwelling in his mind – even more so he was frightened of where it went, every time somewhere so horrible. Even if the core of his thoughts were as dull as dishwater and just as appealing to think about. He sat himself up, looking over at the dim light that the small hand lantern on the side of him let out as he allowed himself a moment of dazed wondering before he grabbed the lantern and took it out the door with him.

He wandered around the estate, almost without his own volition – he wasn’t even guiding where he went consciously, his body just decided that that was where he was going to go and he went with it. What other choice did he really have? He soon found himself staring down the barred off entrance to the west wing. The very same space that Jack had told him to steer clear of – with a well reasoned excuse, if it was dangerous for him and his child then he really shouldn’t be going in there. Still, he knew that knowing all of that didn’t make him any less curious about what might be behind that door.

He didn’t dare open the door – he wasn’t adventurous enough to risk his own life like that, though he was admittedly just a hair shy of being there – but he was curious enough to lean his ear to the door, listening in once more for more of the horrifically musical noises that he had heard earlier in the day.

He braced his fingers around one of the chains barring entrance to the wing to support himself as he leaned in close to listen. The sounds from earlier weren’t there and in their place was something… different, but not any less unnerving to hear. He swore that he heard someone screaming, calling out for help. It was horrible and he was almost entirely sure that his mind was playing tricks on him and yet he couldn’t bring himself to stop listening into the sound of it.

“You know, your not supposed to go in there.” A voice, a definitely feminine voice he noted, snapped him out of his thoughts suddenly. “It’s forbidden for everyone but Jack to enter and even he’s creeped out by it.”

The omega jumped and swirled around abruptly, “I wasn’t doing anything!” he defended himself weakly, feeling like he sounded more than a little childish when he said it. The woman looked at him with an unimpressed stare. One that said, ‘really?’ without actually voicing anything.

Rhys frowned, feeling defeated and embarrassed. “I… I’m sorry I was just – I wasn’t going to go in there! I just… heard things and I was…” with ever word he continued to falter even more in both tone and sureness of what he could even say to excuse his behavior. “W-well I was just a little curious about it is all…”

“It’s alright, you’re not in trouble or anything like that.” The woman said, smiling at him with both amusement and a sense of good-nature. “You’re right, you didn’t actually do anything but you still shouldn’t be poking around there. Jack hates it when people get too curious.”

“Oh?” he exclaimed curiously.

“Yes,” She supplied, digging her heels in a little more. “He might even be annoyed enough that he would stop courting you.”

“Oh, you know about that.” His face fell and he refused to ask if she knew any more about him but unluckily for him, her mind went right to telling him anyway. For a minute, the omega wondered if this was some kind of power play and he had made some sort of awful mistake.

“I know that you’re from Atlas, that you came from the merchant caste, I know that you were engaged and that you ran away for…” her eyes darted down to his midsection, reminding Rhys of his situation in the worst of ways. “Reasons of your own.” she added tactfully.

“Wow! You really do know a lot about me.” Rhys exclaimed, surprised at how much she had known about him. He cocked his head to the side and his eyes narrowed a little in suspicion. “especially seeing as how I don’t even know your name.”

“Well, I hear a lot of things around here.”

“You do?” Rhys queried, looking at her with a mix of fear, defensiveness and apprehension.

“Yes, the walls here are very thin.” She supplied, “And it’s part of my job to know everything that goes on around here.”

“You still haven’t told me your name.” Rhys reminded her, somewhat flippant in his tone as he spoke to her.

“I’m Yvette,” She said, holding out her hand for them to be properly introduced. Rhys took her hand gingerly and shook it. “I make sure that the estate here is well stocked and supplied. I also make sure that the workers down in that village are happy enough that they don’t suddenly revolt against us.”

“Well anyway it’s nice to meet you, Yvette.” He said, “And you already know who I am…and every single thing about me, so I don’t really need to introduce myself. Great.” he fidgeted around nervously as he was unsure of what he should do with himself. “I, I should probably go back to my room or something, I don’t even know what I’m doing down here.”

“Wait,” Yvette called Rhys back before he could run off – and hide away in embarrassment, tuck himself inside of a chest and lock it tight until morning came – he turned back towards her again with a curious look in his eyes. “You don’t have to run off, um, me and Vaughn – that’s out treasurer – are going through some paperwork over in the parlor and we have tea and coffee and… other things?”

“Are you inviting me to tea?” he asked, laughing a bit at the awkwardness of the situation. “In the middle of the night?” Nobody acted normal here, he thought.

Yvette shrugged, “Hey, if you want to go to your room you can but you don’t really look tired.” she replied, “I figure that this is better than staring at the ceiling until morning.”

“I guess your right.” Rhys agreed, allowing the woman to lead him to where she had come from. The two of them walked down a winding hallway that led into a smallish room that occupied little more than a table and a few chairs in it.

“Rhys, this is Vaughn.” Yvette introduced the two of them quickly, “Vaughn this is Rhys, he’s new here.”

“Hey, you’re the new guy.” Vaughn told him as Rhys sat himself down, opposite where Vaughn and all the paperwork that he was working on sat. “Nice to meet you.”

The omega giggled nervously at that, “You too, uh, do you also know every single thing about me? Because that would be…”

“Oh, no.” Vaughn exclaimed, “That’s Yvette’s thing. I’m just good with numbers.”

“Good.” Rhys replied, with completely honest relief in his tone and expression.

Rhys soon found himself becoming fast friends with the two of them. In the course of the night he found out that Vaughn and Yvette were both betas and from what Rhys had seen of the two of them they were pretty friendly with one another.

The three of them talked and ate while Vaughn and Yvette worked over everything and occasionally Yvette or Vaughn would ask him questions about himself and where he came from. Most of them being pretty harmless and inane – Vaughn was pretty curious about Atlas and Yvette occasionally made jokes about how he felt about being courted by Jack – and by the time that he was ready to go back up to his room, Rhys felt better about himself than he had in at least months.

Still, it didn’t prevent the strange dreams that he had, had once he truly retired for bed.


End file.
